Political parties urged to address dementia care failings

A leading health charity has called for the main political parties to address 'serious failings' in dementia care in their election manifestos.

The Conservatives launched the first chapter of their draft manifesto focusing on healthcare on Monday, with Labour already responding with accusations of budget deficits.

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Today, the Alzheimer's Society has called for greater action in addressing social care failings after a survey revealed that less than a quarter of people with dementia are receiving the help they need.

The charity polled almost 1,500 carers and dementia sufferers and found that only 23 per cent felt all of their care needs were being met, while less than a quarter (24 per cent) thought that care staff had the necessary skills and understanding.

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: 'It is unacceptable for a care service to be failing such a vulnerable group to such a staggering degree.

'There are currently 700,000 people in the UK living with dementia. This number will increase to more than a million within 20 years. The vast majority of these people will need some level of social care so it is vital we have a robust system in place that meets their needs.'

Mr Hunt welcomed political parties' discussions about adult social care, but called for 'more detail'.

He noted: 'MPs have told us this is an important issue but we now need to hear guarantees on how each of the parties would provide a fair, transparent and high-quality social care system.'

The charity has published a series of demands it wants to see from political parties in their election manifestos.

These include details of how the parties will develop a quality care service, containing guarantees that every person with dementia can expect support from trained professionals and a social care service to help people live their lives as independently as possible.

The charity has also called for a guarantee that the Attendance Allowance will not be scrapped and that dementia research will be made a higher priority.

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